From Inbox to Income: 3 Action Steps to an Effective Email Marketing System for Coaches

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post, Grow Your Coaching Business: 3 Lessons Learned from Top Business Owners. One of the lessons top business owners wished they had known when they started their business was growing their email list and focusing on email marketing.

But, how do you do that?

That's what I'm talking about today. I'll walk you through three steps to create an effective email marketing system to help you grow your business, boost your revenue, and make a lasting impact on your subscribers.

Why every coach, consultant, and service business owner needs to incorporate email marketing in their overall marketing strategy

When the rubber hits the road, email marketing is hands down the most powerful way to connect with your target market, nurture leads, and convert them into paying clients.

Let's break out several of the advantages you can leverage with a solid, well-targeted email strategy right now.

1. Personalized Engagement

Email content can not only be tailored to your audience in general, but it can also target specific segments of your audience. That way, the content you create and send resonates with your ideal clients and addresses their unique needs and challenges.

Sending targeted messages will make each recipient feel valued and understood. When people feel like you understand them, it helps develop, deepen, and nurture their relationship with you.

2. Building Authority and Trust

Your audience is following you because they have problems and want to know if you can solve them. As you consistently deliver the valuable insights and solutions they are looking for through your email content, they learn to trust your expertise.

This makes it more likely that they'll turn to you for guidance and services when they are ready for them. Your readers will start to see you as an expert in your niche, which can lead to referrals and word-of-mouth business (even if they themselves are not ready to personally work with you yet).

3. Scalability and Efficiency

I'm a huge fan of the minimum-effort/maximum-gaiin approach to life. And if you want to reach a larger audience without having to increase your workload, email marketing is the thing for you.

With an email, you can connect with 100 people just as easily as you can 10,000...or even 100,000! Plus, when you consider the power of segmenting your audience, you increase your ability to educate, inform, and convert leads into clients and scale your business.

4. Thought Leadership & Industry Recognition

Want to become a thought leader? Email marketing is an incredible platform to share your unique perspective and challenge industry norms. It allows you to engage in conversations with your audience and create positive change.

As your influence grows, so does your industry recognition, opening doors to amazing new opportunities, such as speaking engagements, collaborations, and growth opportunities.

5. Time Leverage and Work-Life Balance

Let's go back to that minimum-effort/maximum-gain approach to life for a moment. One of my favorite benefits of email marketing is that it can be automated. You can create an engaging sequence one time that drips out on every new lead while you're doing something else.

There's a freedom in knowing that your emails are working for you when life gets busy.

6. Financial Success

Spoiler alert:  I'll get into the stats on email marketing next, but email is one of the most affordable and profitable marketing channels for business owners today.

Need a quick cash infusion in your business? Create a sales sequence to promote a paid live workshop or digital product.

Want to fill your calendar with discovery calls? Set up a "book a call" email sequence for new subscribers. Email marketing is hands-down the easiest way I know of to increase the lifetime value of your clients and boost your bottom line.

Let's get into the compelling statistics of why email marketing is the unicorn of marketing channels.

Which is More Effective: Email Marketing or Social Media?

Most business owners see the value of leveraging social media to grow their businesses. However, not everyone's focusing on email marketing. This is a mistake, and here's why.

Let's compare both marketing channels' reach, engagement, click-through, and sales conversion rates.

Average Reach of Email Marketing vs. Social Media

• Email: 435 out of 2,000 email subscribers will open your email
• Facebook: 120 out of 2,000 Facebook fans will see your message (source)

Average Click-Through Rates of Email Marketing vs. Social Media Ads

• Email: The average click-through rates for email marketing range from 2.91% (source) to 4.01% (source).
• Social Media: The average click-through rate for social media ads was 1.2% in Q1 of 2023 (source).

Average ROI of Email Marketing vs. Other Channels

Okay, reach and clicks are one thing, but how about sales? What's the ROI (return on investment) with email marketing. That's why we're marketing in the first place, right?

Email Marketing ROI

• Email marketing generates $36 for every $1 spent. That's a 3,600% ROI! (Source)

Search Engine Optimization ROI

• Thought Leadership Content Marketing: Focusing on customer personas, pain points, transactional keywords, and 8 monthly articles generates a 748% ROI. (Source)

Social Media ROI:

• The average ROI for social media ad campaigns is around 250%. (Source)

The bottom line is that mail marketing is more effective at reaching, connecting, and converting your audience than social media or SEO. This is why growing an engaged email list is at the top of my priority list.

Let's dive into how to develop an effective marketing strategy.

3 Steps to an Effective Email Marketing System

Action Step 1: Crafting a Compelling Message

Just like every effective marketing strategy, it all starts with messaging. Make sure you have a compelling message that resonates with your audience.

Your email content should provide value, address your ideal client's pain points, and offer solutions. When you write, use their language (skip the jargon) and write like you're having a conversation with your subscriber. The goal is to make readers feel seen, heard, and understood. We want every email they read to feel like they're having a one-on-one conversation with you.

To create engaging email content, consider these tips

1. Personalize your emails: Tailor your content to your subscribers' needs and interests and address them by name. This personalization creates a sense of connection and builds trust. Pretty much every email service provider will give you this option, so make sure you are using it.
2. Tell stories: Share personal anecdotes and success stories to captivate your audience. Stories have a powerful impact and can inspire and motivate your readers.
3. Write like you talk: Think of the one person you hope reads each email. Picture them in your mind as you write your emails. Be yourself, and speak directly to them. If your readers hear your voice in their head while they read your content, that's perfect!
4. Provide actionable tips: Offer practical advice and steps your audience can immediately implement. This will position you as an authority and encourage engagement. Tips that give your readers a quick big win generate trust, which is necessary for them to be willing to buy from you.

Remember, the goal is to provide value and establish yourself as a valuable resource for your audience.

Take Action: Take 10 minutes right now to review your last email to your subscribers. Focus on the language and tone used. Are you speaking directly to your ideal client? Does the email provide clear value, address their pain points, or offer solutions? Make at least one edit to make it more personalized and engaging. After the edit, read it aloud. Do you sound like you're having a conversation with your subscriber? This exercise will immediately improve the effectiveness of your email messaging.

Action Step 2: Building a Targeted List

It's one thing to write great emails. It's another to get people to read them. You must build a targeted email list to be successful with your email marketing.

Purchasing leads or maintaining an unsegmented list of subscribers with diverse interests is inefficient. The goal is to attract leads you'd love to work with and who need your services or information. Targeting your ideal clients increases the chances of converting them into paying customers.

Here are 4 strategies for building and segmenting your email list

1. Create lead magnets: Offer valuable resources such as cheat sheets, checklists, or guides in exchange for email addresses. This allows you to capture leads who are interested in your specific niche. (I have a couple of freebies to help you create your lead magnet if you need them: 101 Lead Magnet Ideas and Free Lead Magnet Templates.)
2. Segment your list: Divide your subscribers into segments based on their interests, needs, or stage in the customer journey. This enables you to send targeted and relevant content, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
3. Optimize your opt-in forms: Encourage user engagement by strategically placing opt-in forms throughout your website and blog. Link to them in your social media bios and email signature. Make it easy for visitors to subscribe and clearly communicate the benefits they will receive by joining your email list. Only ask for the essential contact information in your opt-in forms to maximize your conversion rate. I like to ask for their first name and email. This way, I can keep my conversion rates high and personalize my messages.
4. Drive traffic to your lead magnets: Mention them in your content, promote them on social media, promote your lead magnet landing page in your email signature, put your opt-ins on your links page, link to your lead magnets in your social media bios, etc.

Take Action: To enhance your email list-building strategy, start by reviewing your current lead magnet for relevance and updating it if necessary. Does it align with the needs of your ideal clients? Will it set them up to want your paid offer? Is it useful and easy to consume? Reflect on your ideal clients to fine-tune your lead magnet, landing pages, and email sequences for maximum resonance. These actions will help you build a more targeted and effective email list, ultimately improving your email marketing results.

Action Step 3: Automation and Sequencing

Email automation allows you to streamline your marketing efforts and deliver personalized experiences at scale. Automated email sequences nurture leads, build relationships, and guide subscribers through your customer journey from interested to invested.

Here are 5 automation and sequencing strategies that work great for coaches and service providers

1. Welcome sequence: Immediately engage new subscribers with emails introducing yourself, providing valuable resources, and setting expectations for future content.
2. Book-a-call sequence: If you need to book discovery calls for sales conversations with your ideal clients, consider a book-a-call sequence. The goal is to drive interested prospects to your online scheduler, ready to take the next step toward solving their problem.
3. Show-up sequence: After someone has scheduled a discovery call, put them into a series of emails to get them excited about the call. I like to send case studies, testimonials, and success stories to show them the results we get for our clients.
4. Sales sequence: Create emails designed to convert leads into paying clients. Highlight the benefits of your products and or services, address objections, and offer incentives to encourage action.
5. Nurture sequence: Create a series of emails that offer detailed information, insights, and resources. This will establish trust and establish you as a valuable resource. (Tip: I love to use my blog content to nurture my audience.)

Automation and sequencing allow you to consistently deliver targeted and relevant content, saving time and effort while increasing reach, engagement, and revenue.

Take Action: Review your current email sequences and identify one that needs improvement or creation. Focus on optimizing this sequence to better nurture your leads or guide them toward a specific action, such as booking a call or making a purchase. Ensure each email in the sequence adds value and aligns with your messaging strategy. This will enhance your email marketing effectiveness and help you convert more leads into clients.

Choosing the Right Email Marketing Platform

There are so many email marketing platforms out there for you to choose from. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. You want to find the best platform for you—the platform that will uniquely help you achieve your marketing goals.

Here are some things to consider when deciding on a platform:

1. Ease of Use

• When searching for a platform, ensure the interface is intuitive and easy to use. This is especially important if you're not tech-savvy.
• Consider the ease of email template customization, automation setup, and list management.

2. Email Automation

• Assess the platform's automation capabilities. Does it support advanced automation sequences for nurturing leads and clients? Do you have to pay for a higher plan to get their automation features? What types of automations does the platform offer?

3. Integrations

• Confirm that the platform integrates with your current tools and software, such as CRM systems, online schedulers, and e-commerce platforms.
• Integration capabilities make managing and automating various aspects of your business easier. For example, I want to make sure if someone schedules a call, I can automatically take them out of the Book-a-Call Sequence and put them in the Show-Up Sequence. Zapier can be a helpful workaround if your email marketing platform lacks a direct connection.

4. Personalization and Segmentation

• Personalization is essential for engaging your audience. Ensure the platform allows you to customize emails based on subscriber behavior and interests. (Most email platforms I've come in contact with do this.)
• Look for robust segmentation options to send targeted content to specific groups within your list. To go back to my example above, you should be able to segment people who haven't booked a discovery call from people who have. It wouldn't make sense to keep sending "book a call" emails to someone who has already booked.

5. Deliverability

• A high email deliverability rate is crucial. Investigate the platform's reputation for delivering emails to the inbox rather than the spam folder. (To increase your deliverability rate, authenticate your domain by adding DKIM records to your domain's DNS. Each platform should provide instructions on how to do this, and your website hosting company should be able to help you add the records.)
• Emailtooltester.com reports the average deliverability of the various email marketing tools. Here's a chart showing how each popular email platform ranks regarding their deliverability rates.

6. Reporting

• Comprehensive reporting and analytics are essential for tracking the success of your campaigns. You will want to be able to track things like how many new subscribers and unsubscribes you're getting. You'll also need email-specific stats like deliverability, open rates, click-through rates, and the best days to send your emails. The ultimate metric (which may take some manual calculations if you're using an email marketing platform that does not process payments) is your earnings per lead.

7. Pricing and Scalability

• Consider your budget and the scalability of the email marketing platform. Will it accommodate your needs as your email list grows?
• Pay attention to pricing structures, including the cost per subscriber or the number of emails sent. Pay attention to the price at each level of subscribers. Many platforms tout their free levels for users with fewer than 500-2000 leads, but the costs can quickly escalate as your list grows.

8. Support and Training:

• Assess the level of customer support and available training resources. Timely assistance is essential, especially when you're in the middle of a launch. Some platforms only offer support at certain levels. It's also nice to find a platform that provides ongoing training like webinars, tutorials, and a knowledge base you tap into when you're stuck.

Tip: I set aside some time twice a year to evaluate the tools I'm using to make sure they're the best option for me at the stage I'm in with my business. I like to make a list of my frustrations with each segment of my business and brainstorm ways I can make my life easier. Sometimes upgrading to a higher level of a tool I'm using will give me the features I need. Other times I find I'm paying for more features than I need so downgrading makes sense. And once in a while, I decide it's time to try a different tool. My goal is to be smart with my spending without sacrificing convenience.

My Favorite & Most Recommended Email Marketing Platforms

Now, let's briefly explore some popular email marketing platforms along with their pros and cons.

Flodesk

I recently switched to Flodesk, and I really like it. My primary reason for switching was the price. Flodesk is currently $35 per month if you pay for a year or $39 per month if you pay monthly, no matter how many contacts you have on your list. (I was paying $229 per month with ActiveCampaign.)

Flodesk does not have the bells and whistles or advanced marketing capabilities of ActiveCampaign. Still, it's doing everything I need, and I like the simple, easy-to-use platform.

If you want to try FloDesk, use my link to get 50% off your first year. For 12 months, you'll only pay $19 per month, no matter how many subscribers you have!

Pros:

1. User-Friendly Interface: Flodesk offers a gorgeous, intuitive platform that's easy for beginners to navigate.
2. Beautiful Email Templates: It provides stunning, professionally designed email templates, enhancing your brand's visual appeal.
3. Affordable Pricing: Flodesk offers competitive pricing, making it budget-friendly for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
4. eCommerce Built-In: Flodesk now has a Stripe integration, so you can sell your physical or digital products without having an eCommerce site! Flodesk offers both email and checkout for $59/month.
5. Zapier Integration: Flodesk doesn't link directly to my scheduler (TidyCal) or other schedulers like Calendly. However, they do have a Zapier connection, so I can segment my subscribers who have booked a discovery call from subscribers who haven't. I can also sync Flodesk with my Circle membership platform, WooCommerce, Asana project management, etc!

Cons:

1. Limited Automation Features: While user-friendly, Flodesk may not offer the depth of other platforms' automation features.
2. Segmentation Challenges: Flodesk has some limitations regarding segmenting and creating complex workflows. However, most clients I work with don't need complex workflows.
3. Advanced Features: It may lack some advanced features that larger businesses require for complex email marketing strategies. For example, it does not offer site-tracking, so you can't trigger your sales team to reach out to a lead when they have visited your services page X number of times.

ActiveCampaign

I've been an ActiveCampaign user for years (since 2016) and I've recommended it to dozens, if not hundreds, of people. It's a Cadillac platform with everything most businesses need for an effective email marketing system. It can be complicated to set up, and there is a learning curve. Still, as far as automations go, ActiveCampaign is fantastic!

Here's my link if you'd like to try ActiveCampaign free for 14 days.

Pros:

1. Robust Automation: ActiveCampaign is known for its advanced automation capabilities, allowing for complex and personalized workflows.
2. In-Depth Tracking: It provides detailed analytics and tracking features to monitor email campaign performance.
3. CRM Capabilities: The platform includes CRM functionality, making it suitable for businesses looking to manage contacts and leads.

Cons:

1. Learning Curve: The advanced features can be overwhelming for beginners, and it may take time to fully utilize them.
2. Higher Pricing: Although it has many features, the advanced ones are more expensive, which may not be affordable for those on a tight budget.
3. Template Customization: Some users find the email template customization options less user-friendly than other platforms. (Please note that ActiveCampaign recently launched a new email design platform that is beautiful and very easy to use!)

ConvertKit

Several of our clients use ConvertKit, so while I've not used it personally, I'm in there weekly and sometimes daily. It's a solid email marketing platform, perfect for coaches, consultants, course creators, and service providers.

Sign up with my link to get a 14-day free trial to ConvertKit. They'll even migrate you for free!

Pros:

1. Creator-Focused: ConvertKit is designed with creators in mind, making it ideal for bloggers, authors, and online course creators.
2. User-Friendly: It offers a straightforward interface that's easy to use, especially for content creators.
3. Excellent Automation: ConvertKit provides powerful automation features to nurture leads and engage subscribers.

Cons:

1. Limited Visual Customization: Some users find the email template customization options limited in design.
2. Pricing: ConvertKit's pricing can become less competitive than other platforms as your list grows.
3. Beginner Features: While user-friendly, beginners might find some advanced features challenging to implement effectively.

MailChimp

MailChimp was my first email marketing platform when I started my business. It's fantastic for beginners and offers a lot of features. I also love how it connects easily to WooCommerce, Facebook Ads, Typeform, Gravity Forms, etc. I am happy to recommend it to clients.

Pros:

1. User-Friendly: MailChimp is known for its user-friendly interface, making it accessible for beginners.
2. Free Plan: It offers a free plan, ideal for those just starting or with smaller subscriber lists.
3. Suitable for Beginners: The platform is designed to be approachable for those new to email marketing.
4. Endless Integrations: Mailchimp has been around since 2001 and has many built-in integrations available to make segmenting your audience and streamlining your marketing easy!

Cons:

1. Limited Advanced Features: More advanced features are often reserved for higher-tier, paid plans.
2. Lack of Support: MailChimp only offers support via their chatbot support for free users beyond 30 days of signing up. You must be on a paid plan to get a live chat or phone support.
3. Pricing for Larger Lists: As your list grows, the pricing can become less competitive than other platforms.

MailerLite

Several of our clients use MailerLite, and it feels like a user-friendly platform. One client, in particular, switched to MailerLite after ActiveCampaign shut down her account (without notifying her) because she was discussing CBD in her marketing.

Pros:

1. Affordable Pricing: MailerLite offers competitive pricing, making it budget-friendly for small businesses.
2. Easy-to-Use: It provides an intuitive interface that's easy to navigate, even for beginners.
3. Automation and Landing Pages: With MailerLite, you can enjoy automation features and easily create landing pages within the platform.

Cons:

1. Limited Advanced Features: Larger businesses may find that MailerLite lacks certain advanced features than more comprehensive platforms.
2. Template Variety: While it offers templates, some users may find the variety of designs somewhat limited.
3. Lack of Support: Like MailChimp, they only offer support to free plans for 30 days; after that, you're on your own with the knowledge base unless you upgrade to a paid plan.
4. Approval Process: Upon signing up for MailerLite, you have to give them ALL your details and then wait for them to approve you. On one hand, this is a good thing to keep their deliverability high. Still, it definitely adds a barrier to entry for someone who wants to get started.

When choosing the right platform, consider these pros and cons with your specific business needs, budget, and familiarity with email marketing tools.

Take Action: Take a closer look at your current email marketing platform. Evaluate whether it aligns with your business goals and offers the features you need for effective email marketing. Consider factors like ease of use, automation capabilities, list segmentation, and reporting tools. Identify any gaps or areas where an upgrade might be beneficial. Your email marketing platform should be a valuable asset in growing your coaching or service business, so make sure it's the right fit to support your success.

Overcoming Common Challenges

Implementing an effective email marketing system may come with its challenges. Here are some common challenges and their solutions:

1. Content creation: Develop a content strategy and plan ahead to ensure a consistent flow of valuable content. Repurpose existing content, leverage user-generated content, and collaborate with industry experts to diversify your content offerings. Join our Monthly Planning Parties if you need help developing your content strategy!
2. List growth: Continuously grow your email list through lead-generation strategies such as content marketing, social media promotions, guest blogging, and partnerships. Offer lead magnet incentives and provide consistent value to encourage sign-ups.
3. Deliverability and engagement: Optimize your emails for deliverability by following best practices such as using a reputable email service provider, adding DKIM records to your domain's DNS, avoiding spam trigger words, and regularly cleaning your email list. Monitor engagement metrics and adjust your content and strategies accordingly. (Psst. I added a list of SPAM trigger phrases in the Start Here & Resources section of our free Wise Owl Marketing Community.)

Take Action: Take a moment to reflect on the common challenges discussed in this section and evaluate how they relate to your email marketing efforts. Identify which challenges resonate with your current situation and choose one that you'd like to focus on addressing. Then, make a plan to tackle it. Whether it's improving your content creation process, implementing strategies for list growth, or optimizing email deliverability, taking targeted action can lead to significant improvements in your email marketing system's effectiveness.

Conclusion

If you want leverage, you want a well-thought-out, well-targeted, and well-done email marketing strategy. By creating persuasive content, developing precise audiences, and utilizing automation and sequencing, you can generate leads, earn their trust, and convert them into profitable customers. At the end of the day, it's one of the best ways to grow your business and make a lasting impact.

Ready to take your email marketing to the next level? Schedule a Free Clarity Call. Or Join Our Next Marketing Planning Party to learn more about creating a content marketing plan that includes email marketing!